I just heard about the following anthology today, so the deadline is almost here, but it's for a very deserving cause. And they're looking for stories that take place in Iowa! You know, flyover country? The place nobody really remembers? The flat state? The place I spent the first 21 years of my wild-n-crazy life???

Check it out -- from J.K. Richard's Guidelines page:

Iowa Anthology

In an effort to raise funds for the recent historic flooding of Iowa I am casting an open call for submissions for a SF/F anthology.

The goal of this concerted effort is to raise at least $1000.00 USD to be donated to one of the disaster relief effort groups in the most affected area. (Certain organizations i.e The Red Cross require permission to state that we are conducting a fundraiser for them — I have submitted to the Red Cross and am currently awaiting response.

(Also, feel free to donate to a local disaster relief agency then purchase a copy of the anthology when it is completed.)

The anthology will be published through a print-on-demand (POD) model using Lulu.com.

An ISBN will be purchased (by myself) for ease of ordering using Lulu’s “Published by You” option.

This is not a paying or a qualifying professional market (iaw SFWA standards for Qualifying Professional Markets.

Authors retain all rights on material. Authors may remove their submission from the anthology at their request (Note: the anthology will be revised quarterly due to Lulu’s pricing restrictions on modification of materials with purchased ISBNs post-submission). By submitting to the anthology you are agreeing use for non-pecuniary (no one is making money off your work) purposes outside the donation to the various disaster relief efforts. Submissions should be sent to: iaanthology@gmail.com

I am taking electronic submissions only.

* Send as an attachment .doc or .rtf, mac users may contact me directly for conversion resources
* Use standard US letter sizing (8.5″ width, 11″ length)
* Cover/Title page with title and author’s name (or pen name)
* Double spaced
* 12 pitch Times New Roman or Courier family fonts (please)
* Headers/Footers are fine, no other special formatting please

Fiction should be geared towards a YA market. Use of Iowa as your scene/backgrop would be a bonus. Literary, steampunk, clockpunk, midwest and cornpunk (I just made that up.) — the anthology is open to all appropriate stories of most genres.

Deadline for submissions is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) July 23rd, 2008.

The anthology should be available within 2 weeks after.

All contributors will receive an electronic (.pdf) copy of the anthology for personal use.

If you are unable to submit (or, you are not a writer) you are welcome to pass this post along. Please pass this along.

I think I may have something that'll work. If only I had time to write a CORNPUNK story! How awesome would that be? But no, I've got these chapters to write and revise... ah, me.

I'm excited about the antho, and regardless of what happens with my own submission, this is a book I NEED to buy. Later!